Football kicking device



Dec. 2, 1969 J. w. TATTER FOOTBALL KICKING DEVICE Filed Jan. '5, 1967/pgr-f u ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,481,602 FOOTBALL KICKINGDEVICE John W. Tatter, Akron, Ohio, assignor to The General Tire &Rubber Company, a corporation of Ohio Filed Jan. 5, 1967, Ser. No.607,477 Int. Cl. A63b 69/00 US. Cl. 273-55 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE This invention is useful in the sport of football andpertains to a novel kicking tee provided with pivotally connected legsto vary the height at which the ball is placed for kicking, and a pairof arms which can be folded out of the way when not needed or,alternatively, can be used for supporting the football in an up-rightposition. This tee can be used for kick-offs as well as field goalattempts and attempted conversions after touchdown.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The game of footballis played by two teams using an inflatable ball of generally oval shape,made out of leather, rubber or the like. The game is played on agenerally rectangular field and the object of the game is to move theball the entire length of the field and across the goal line of theother team. Goal posts are set up on each goal line, and these consistof a pair of parallel vertical bars (called the uprights) joined 10 feetabove the ground by a cross bar. The game is commenced by one teamkicking the football to the other team which then attempts, by a seriesof maneuvers and the use of strategy, to move the football across thegoal line of the other team. The kick-01f is accomplished by placing thefootball generally in an up-right position with its larger axis tiltedat a slight angle from the vertical and then having one member of theteam approach and kick the ball.

During the course of the game, the team in possession of the ball mayattempt to kick the ball between the uprights and above the cross bar ofthe opponents goal posts; and if successful, can score points in thismanner. If the team makes a touchdown, it scores six points and is givena chance to score an additional point, called a point-after-touchdown,by kicking the ball between the uprights. Alternatively, a team canscore three points in lieu of a touchdown by successfully kicking theball between the uprights of the goal posts from any place on theplaying field, this being referred to as a field goal. In eitherinstance, the ball is held in kicking position by one player whileanother attempts to accurately kick it. The opposing team tries toprevent the scoring by physically blocking the kick or by other means.

Description of the prior art It is a common practice, during thekick-off, to utilize a kicking tee fabricated out of a material such asrubber and comprising a relatively flat base with a couple of verticalsupport members. The ball is placed on the base and rests against thesupport members in the proper position for kicking. When attemptingfield goals, or points-after-touchdown, a fiat slab of rubber or thelike is often placed upon the ground and the football is placed inkicking position on 3,481,602 Patented Dec. 2, 1969 ice tion, distanceto be kicked, rain, etc. Thus, it is a common practice for most footballteams to have two or more kicking tees of 'varying sizes and dimensionsand which are useful under diverse circumstances and conditions. Thiscan lead to confusion and unnecessary duplicity of equipment.Furthermore, it constitutes an unnecessary added expense.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a kicking deviceincluding a base upon which the football is placed and is provided withmeans for varying the elevation of the base above the ground.Furthermore, it preferably includes means for supporting the ball in theproper kicking position.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a kicking devicewhich will replace two or three separate devices Another object is toprovide a football kicking tee with more versatility than those whichhave been available heretofore.

Yet another object is to provide a kicking tee which is economical andsimple to construct and yet is rugged and long lasting.

These and other objects which will become readily apparent areaccomplished in the manner to be hereinafter described, with particularreference to the attached draw- 1ngs.

DRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of akicking tee of the present invention elevated on its legs and with apair of arms raised in football supporting position;

1 FIGURE 2 is a side view of the tee supported on its egs;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the tee with a football supported thereon andwith the legs folded under so that the tee rests on its base;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the tee as it would typically be used forplace-kicking, with the arms folded down against the base and withportions cut away for clarity;

FIGURE 5 is a view, partially in cross section, taken along lines 5-5 ofFIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 6 is an exploded partial end view of the tee showing one of theball support arms and a part of one of the legs ready for assembly.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIGURE 1, thereis shown a kicking tee having a generally planar base 2 including a flatupper surface 4, a pair of beveled leading edges 6, 8 terminating in apoint 10, a pair of generally parallel sides 12 and a trailing edge 14containing a pair of rearwardly extending projections 16. Theseprojections 16 and the shape of the leading edge all cooperate to forman arrow or pointer extending generally in the direction in which theball is intended to be kicked. A ribbed groove 18 is formed in the uppersurface of the base and tapers downwardly from the front of the tee tothe back thereof. A plurality of ribs 20 extend generally laterally ofthe tee and gradually increase in size from front to back. Their purposeis to provide a rough surface to preclude the ball from slipping whenplaced on the tee.

A pair of legs 22, 24 are pivotally associated with the base 2 and, asshown, are in ground contacting position to elevate the tee off theground. A pair of ball support arms 26 are pivotally attached to thebase and are adapted to swing from the upright position as shown inFIGURE 1 down into the recess 28 molded or otherwise formed in the base.

In FIGURES 2 and 3, it can be seen that the portion 29 of the base 2between the legs 22, 24 is relieved so 3 that when the legs are folded,as shown in FIGURE 3, they will be flush with the bottom of the base.

FIGURES 2 through 4 illustrate the versatility of the football kickingdevice of the present invention by showing three of the severalpositions in which the device can be placed for purposes of supportingthe ball prior to kicking. FIGURES 2 and 3 show the device as used tosupport the ball without any external aid. FIGURE 4 shows this noveldevice, with the legs 22, 24 and the arms 26 folded away from theirposition of utility to thereby present a relatively flat bottom surfaceand a planar top surface 4. One end of the ball can then be placed inkicking position on the tee by one player while another player attemptsto kick the ball for a field goal, point after touchdown, or the like.

It will be noted that the legs, when in ground contacting position as inFIGURE 2, do not form right angles with the ground, but instead arespread slightly so as to impart stability to the tee. A front shoulder31 and a rear shoulder 33 are molded or otherwise provided in the baseto limit the movement of these legs. It should be noted that the rearshoulder also serves as limiting means for the ball support arms when intheir raised position.

It should furthermore be noted that the kicking tee can be supportedusing only the front legs if it is desired to kick the ball high in theair, or alternatively on only the back leg for low kicks, again with orwithout the ball support arms 26 in place.

FIGURES 5 and 6 show the general shape of the back leg 22 and the ballsupport arms 26 and in addition shows how these elements are assembledonto and held in place on the base 2. The back leg 22 is generallychannel shaped with a ground contacting edge 32 forming the base of thechannel and a pair of sides 34 projecting up therefrom, each terminatingin a curved portion 36 (in FIGURE 1). A small peg 38 projects from eachside, the two pegs being axially aligned and extending toward oneanother.

The front leg is typically the same shape as the back leg, but not aswide, and the curved portion 40 is slightly smaller than its counterpart36 of the hack leg and is adapted to be received in a conforming recess42 in the bottom of the base 4. Each side of the front leg 24 isprovided with a peg which is adapted to fit into an appropriate annulus44 in the recess 42 at either side of the base.

Referring again to FIGURES 5 and 6, it should be noted that each of theball support arms 26 is slightly tapered and is provided with a beveledsurface 40 against which the football rests. The other end 50 of the armis generally circular in shape and is provided with" a peg 54 and arecess 52, adapted to receive the peg 38 of leg 22. The peg 54 isadapted to fit into an annulus 56 molded or otherwise provided in thebase 2.

The arms 26 and the back leg 22 are mounted on the base 2 by firstpositioning the two arms so that their respective pegs 54 are engaged inthe two annuli 56 and can move freely from the vertical ball supportingposition to the horizontal position in recess 28. The two sides 34 ofthe leg 22 are then spread apart so that the pegs 38 will engage theirrespective recesses 52. The sides are then released and allowed toreturn to their normal position parallel to one another to retain thearms and the leg in position so that they will not be dislodged duringnormal handling and abuse of the kicking tee. The front legs areattached to the base by merely spreading the two sides apart andinserting the pegs 44 into fl'ie appropriate holes.

As seen in FIGURE 5, the portion 45 of the leg 22 opposite the groundcontacting edge 32 is curved slightly to provide clearance between itand the bottom 5 of the base 2. This clearance permits the use of anarrow guide strip which can be attached to the underside of the kickingtee and can be extended back therefrom along the ground to serve as akicking aid during practice sessions.

It is obvious that the thickness of the base and the length of the legswill determine the first and second kicking heights for the ball.Typically, the base is molded to a thickness of about one inch, whichcorresponds to the distance between the ball and the ground when thelegs are folded against the base in their nonsupport position. The legscan be designed so as to elevate the base, for example one inch off ofthe ground, thereby providing a two inch elevation for the ball. It hasbeen found that by projecting at least one and one-half inch above thetop surface of the tee, the arms will support the ball in an uprightposition on a tee.

Although the drawings represent a preferred embodiment of the invention,many changes in structure and design can be made without deviating fromthe scope of the present invention. For example, the legs and arms canbe attached to the base by the use of appropriate bolts, rivets or otherattaching means. Furthermore, the shape of the various components,particularly the base, can be changed without destroying thefunctionality and versatility of the device. The sides, direction,spacing and design of the ribs on the top surface of the base can bevaried or omitted as desired. These ribs can extend diagonally acrossthe groove, or can be in the shape of a chevron or the like. They canall be the same size if desired, instead of gradually increasing inamplitude from front to back. The groove, instead of being flat andtapering from front to back, can be curved, with or without a taper, orcan be omitted completely. The overall profile of the tee can be variedby elimination of the pointed leading edge and the rearwardly extendingguide means. Other dimensional changes can be made as well. For example,four legs could be used in place of two as shown, or these two legs caneach be modified to provide two spaced apart ground contacting pointsinstead of a continuous edge.

This device can be fabricated from any one of a numberof materials suchas plasticized polyvinyl chloride, chlorosulfonated polyethylene or ahigh durometer rubber such as natural rubber, butyl rubber, ethylenepropylene terpolymer, or SBR. Furthermore, the different components can,if desired, be made out of different materials. Typically, thecomponents of this tee could be produced by compression or injectionmolding according to techniques well known in the industry.

These and other changes can be made without deviating from the scope ofthe invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A football kicking device including:

(a) a base having an upper surface upon which a football is placed (b)support means cooperating with said base and adapted to pivot between abase supporting and a base non-supporting position to vary the distancebetween said upper surface of the base and the ground, and

(c) means to support the football in a kicking position on said uppersurface, said means comprising a pair of arms adapted to pivot betweenan up-right position for support of said football and a nonsupportingposition.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said support means for thebase iscomposed of at least two legs pivotally attached to the base.

3. A device according to claim 1 wherein the base is provided withrecesses to receive said arms and legs when in their nonsuportingpositions.

4. A device according to claim 3 wherein the base is further providedwith abutment means for the legs when in their base supporting positionand for the arms when in their ball supporting position.

5. A football kicking tee fabricated from a suitable polymer andcomprising:

(a) resilient base having a bottom surface adapted to rest on the groundin a first position, and a top surface generally parallel thereto, andfurther defined by a pair of generally parallel sides, forward andrearward extending portions, and a tapered groove faces which intersectat a point and said rearward extendformed in said top surface betweensaid parallel sides ing portion comprises a pair of projections whichcoopand provided with a plurality of parallel ribs, the crate with saidpoint to define a directional guide. rearward extending portioncontaining a pair of kick- 8. A football kicking tee including:

ing guide means extending rearwardly from said (a) a generally planarbase having a top, football congroove and on either side thereof, thebottom surface 5 taeting surface, provided with a pluralit of ribs andof said base relieved to form a recess and the top surforward andrearward portions joined by generally face provided with a pair ofrecesses along the sides parallel sides containing recesses therein,said base thereof and a pair of annular cavities on either side adaptedtorest upon the ground in a first ball supof said base, one locatedtoward said forward ex port position, and

tending portion and one located toward said rearward extending portion,(b) base support means comprising a front support and (b) leg meanspivotally joined to said base and disposed in said recesses when the teeis in the first support position and pivoted out of the recesses inground contacting position to elevate the base in a second ball supportposition.

9. The tee ofclaim 8 wherein said leg means comprise a front leg and-aback leg joined respectively to the forward and rearwardkportions of thebase, each leg being generally channel shaped and composed of a pair ofgenerally parallel spaced-apart sides joined together by a base adaptedto contact-the ground when the tee is in its second ball supportposition; each of said sides terminating in a curved portion having apeg projecting therefrom extending toward the corresponding pegprojecting from the other side and'the base of the tee containing holesto receive these pegs.

10. The tee ofclaim 9 further including a pair of elongated armspivotally joined at one end of the base of the tee and which in anupright position, serve to support the football in kicking position andwhich, when not in use fold into recesses in the base of the tee.

a back support, each defined by a ground contacting edge, substantiallythe same width as that of the base, a pair of sides extending away fromsaid edge, generally parallel to one another, and terminating in acurved portion, each such portion provided with a circular pin generallyparallel with said ground contacting edge, said pins substantiallyaxially aligned with and directed toward one another, said support meansadapted to be received in the recess in the bottom surface of said base,and

(c) a pair of generally elongated ball support arms,

one end of each arm terminating in a curved portion between two parallelsurfaces and provided with a pin receiving annulus extending inwardlyfrom one of said surfaces and a circular pin coaxial therewith andprojecting out from the second of said surfaces, each of said pinsadapted to pivotally engage one of the rearwardly positioned annuli onthe base and to receive one of the pins on said back support wherebysaid arms are held in place said ball support arms adapted to fit intosaid recesses on the top surface References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTSof said base support means when not in use. 6. The kicking tee accordingto claim 5 further characganuvalkenburg 273 210 terized by independentmovement of said front support, 3309087 3/1967 63%;};

said back support and said ball positioning arms.

7. The tee according to claim 6 wherein said forward extending portionis composed of a pair of leading sur- 4

